Would you rather have algebra or algebra? In schools across the United States, there is no choice in taking a course that numerous students have and will struggle in. “Is Algebra Necessary?” by Andrew Hacker investigates the issue on the minds of students, parents, and educators. Andrew Hacker views algebra as a hurdle that students must tackle and sometimes at the high cost of graduations and future careers. He believes that if the mindset on algebra was changed, it could affect students for the better. Many students see algebra as unnecessary because of its causality towards dropout rates and its impracticality in future careers. If algebra was seen as a subject that crossed curriculums and could be applied to daily life, students would …show more content…
Reasons for dropping out of high school can vary, but Andrew Hacker notices a factor becoming common – high school students struggling in algebra. Statistics, such as “one in four ninth graders fail to finish high school…in South Carolina, 34 percent…for Nevada…45 percent” back up his claim, naming algebra as the main reason (Hacker). By requiring algebra as a course to graduate, American schools are skimming over students that still have potential. Those students that may flourish in the arts, history, or sciences must still face the hurdle of algebra, not only during the course but in the final exit exams. This can leave them second guessing gifts, talents, and future career paths. The stress and pressure from their parents, teachers, and school administrators to succeed in a difficult subject leave some students seeing only one option. In a school system that sees algebra as the one and final key to future success, a student must choose: struggle in school or struggle in …show more content…
Instead of having one hour, one teacher, and one curriculum to teach algebra, Andrew Hacker sees the solution of students’ struggles as breaking down the walls around the subject. Algebra can be involved and studied in any and every subject, from music, to science, to philosophy, and history. This could help students who thrive in other subjects benefit from algebra and continue in what they do well. Hacker hopes “the aim would be to treat mathematics as a liberal art, making it…accessible and welcoming.” Another solution would be creating a mathematics course that focuses on where math intersects everyday life. It would not be a way for students to get out of taking a math course, would still be challenging, and give students something more applicable to them. In this light, algebra would become less of a dread and appeal to more everyday life
Algebra is one of the major parts in exams like GRE and ACT so that all college students and high school students need to learn. In order to get a good grade, students are willing to spend hours and hours studying hard on things like matrices and equations. When they are wondering why they have to learn things so difficult and if this knowledge would be useful in the future time. Andrew Hacker, the author of "Is Algebra Necessary?", thinks not. In his editorial, he argues that students, especially those who are not majoring in math, should not be forced to learn high-level math. His arguments are very effective because he successfully uses logos, pathos and ethos in his editorial. The usage of the rhetorical triangle made his editorial logical,
Math is everywhere when most people first think of math or the word “Algebra,” they don’t get too excited. Many people say “Math sucks” or , “When are we ever going to use it in our lives.” The fact is math will be used in our lives quite frequently. For example, if we go watch a softball game all it is, is one giant math problem. Softball math can be used in many
High school students don’t know how they can succeed in school and improve their academic performance. A student in high school with unexceptionally easy courses could glide through high school with very limited effort involved and receiving mediocre results. The student receives low grades since they are not required or expected to exceed above any standards set by the administration. When that student graduates high school and begins their college career or applies for jobs, they are vacuous and struggle since they only took the easy route throughout their early life and was never prepared. Unfortunately, most students end up in that predicament of not being prepared for their future struggles and fail to succeed since there was never any
Barr, C., Doyle, M., Clifford, J., De Leo,T., Dubeau, C. (2003). "There is More to Math: A Framework for Learning and Math Instruction” Waterloo Catholic District School Board
The new generation of the twenty first century has been given many well deserved titles, but being lazy is not one of them. High school exit exams have been a part of school curriculums since the 1800’s, and the first was administered in New York in 1878 under heavy controversy (Finkel 1). Opponents of the exit exam cite the lower graduation percentages, and how a grown adult without a diploma will suffer heavily in their adult lives. What many will not admit to is that the benefits of these exit exams are equally as far reaching as the so called “cons” of the tests. The high school exit exam encourages teachers to push their students, and set a national standard for high school achievement to ensure American students are prepared for the international and collegiate levels.
Let me take you back to being a sophomore in high school: fifteen-about-to-turn-sixteen-year-olds, beginning thoughts of college just blooming in their minds, and they are taking more challenging classes than ever before. Every year, classes are changed in schools in order to fulfill new requirements and the difficulty is increased in order to challenge the new students. These new classes and the amount of choices students now have between the different classes available now put new pressures on students that the older generations may not understand. Not only do students have the choice of electives, but now they have the choice of different mathematics, sciences, and English courses on a range of sometimes four different levels. With all these choices, students may have a hard time deciding which is the proper course and level to take. Unfortunately, there is one more pressure in the mix of this decision: the pressure to take advanced placement (AP) courses. More students are taking AP classes every year but the number of students who “bomb the AP exams is growing even more rapidly” (Simon). This leads into the idea that students are not getting more intelligent than the previous classes, but simply that there is too much pressure on them to take these AP courses. Students in high school are being pressured too much to take advanced placement courses whether or not they are academically qualified for them.
I particularly enjoyed the YouTube Videos with Khan Academy to learn different mathematical concepts. Because Math did not come easily like other subjects, I would repeatedly replay videos after videos until I started a library with all my videos in one place. Between Mrs. Goggins’ after school tutorials, long nights of studying, the use of Khan Academy and other YouTube videos, I made up for my loss in first semester Algebra by successfully completing second semester Ninth Grade Algebra with a
Algebra is one of the most critical classes a mathematics student takes. In this crucial course, the student must make the jump from concrete numbers and operations to variables and uncertainty. Unfortunately, this area of mathematics is where most students lose interest in mathematics because the concepts become too abstract. The abstractness frightens students and this fear is where the typical “I hate math” attitude comes from. Educators need to be aware of this problem and accept that the traditional methods of teaching mathematics, specifically algebra, are too focused on intangible concepts. These concepts need to be introduced to students in a more approachable manner, such as concrete representations. One such concrete representation, algebra tiles, is an excellent way to introduce the concept of multiplying monomials and binomials. The multiplication of monomials and binomials is an essential ability for students to master in order to continue mathematics. Many students are intimidated by the concept of multiplying these vague terms with variables. In essence, the traditional method of teaching the multiplication of monomials and binomials, the FOIL method, is too theoretical for students to comprehend. A new approach must be used, and algebra tiles are one of the best new ways to approach this topic.
How does dropping out of high school affects students’ lives in the future? Students’ dropping out has become a crisis, President Obama said, “It’s time for all of us to come together parents and students, principals, and teachers, business leaders and elected officials to end America’s dropout crisis” (“ President Obama”). There are 7 thousand students’ that drop out of high school that adds up to about 1.2 million each year, wouldn’t it be nice to drop that number and help kids stay in school instead of dropping out of high school(“ President Obama”). Students’ shouldn’t drop out of high school because they couldn’t go to college, couldn’t hold down a job, and would struggle making minimum wage for the rest of their life.
There’s no denying that education is constantly changing, but what’s truly astounding is the difference that can be throughout the years in math. More is changing in math classrooms than the tools that are used. The expectations that 21st century students face are completely transforming the approach that’s being taken in classrooms across America. The United States wants to make sure its students are ready to compete on a global level, and teachers are stepping up to the plate. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has led the movement for education reform in mathematics.
Every 26 seconds one of our kids drops out of high school, that's 1.3 million students each year. The main reason for dropping out, the failure to succeed. Society puts an insurmountable amount of pressure on these kids to succeed, however this can actually be extremely detrimental to the students and children.
As a secondary subject, society often views mathematics a critical subject for students to learn in order to be successful. Often times, mathematics serves as a gatekeeper for higher learning and certain specific careers. Since the times of Plato, “mathematics was virtually the first thing everyone has to learn…common to all arts, science, and forms of thought” (Stinson, 2004). Plato argued that all students should learn arithmetic; the advanced mathematics was reserved for those that would serve as the “philosopher guardians” of the city (Stinson, 2004). By the 1900s in the United States, mathematics found itself as a cornerstone of curriculum for students. National reports throughout the 20th Century solidified the importance of mathematics in the success of our nation and its students (Stinson, 2004). As a mathematics teacher, my role to educate all students in mathematics is an important one. My personal philosophy of mathematics education – including the optimal learning environment and best practices teaching strategies – motivates my teaching strategies in my personal classroom.
Teens today face a lot of pressure. Many students deal with difficult life situations that hinder them from focusing on their futures. This can lead to a loss of interest in school and school events, such as a sports, clubs, or after school programs. Teens start to prioritize other things over their education. Every year, over 1.2 million students will leave school without earning a high school diploma in the United States alone (“11”). That’s a student every 26 seconds – or 7,000 a day (“11”). The United States, which used to have the highest graduation rates of any country, now ranks 22nd out of 27 developed countries (“11”). Students may not realize that by dropping out of high school they are more likely to commit crimes, become parents at a young age, use and abuse alcohol and drugs, and live in poverty (“Drop”). Dropouts make up the majority of those
Regrettably, some students must drop out of school and use that time to get a job to help support their families. Female students who become pregnant have to drop out to take care of their child. Poor choices constrain some students to land themselves behind bars before their education becomes complete. Primary caretakers becoming ill and/or dying can force high schoolers to drop out and to take on the role of their family member, who has now become unable (“School Dropout”). These events can leave kids all over the country with two different options that have a few stunning similarities; receiving their GED, or dropping out of high school without a
Throughout out this semester, I’ve had the opportunity to gain a better understanding when it comes to teaching Mathematics in the classroom. During the course of this semester, EDEL 440 has showed my classmates and myself the appropriate ways mathematics can be taught in an elementary classroom and how the students in the classroom may retrieve the information. During my years of school, mathematics has been my favorite subject. Over the years, math has challenged me on so many different levels. Having the opportunity to see the appropriate ways math should be taught in an Elementary classroom has giving me a